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Originally Posted by Stephen@Cult Labs  I'm wondering what kind of hold he has over directors that they would allow him to do this to their work? Are they all scared of him? |
Usually it's the DP - not the director - who oversees the home video transfer. The exceptions are typically the crazier ones like Ridley Scott, William Friedkin and David Fincher who are (for better or worse) control freaks and make sure the home video release is up to their exacting specifications. Sometimes it goes well and you get Se7en or Alien, and sometimes... well, sometimes you get The French Connection.
I could be wrong, but I'm guessing Arrow Video could have the option of making their own HD transfer from scratch, which is what Blue Underground must have done... of course if they only expect to sell X number of copies, and they'd need to sell Y percentage of "X" just to cover the transfer, it might not have been a realistic option. Licensors offer materials, but in most cases a licensor can choose to bear the expense of trotting the negative out of storage and then making their own materials, right?
For that matter, BU may not own the
distribution rights to BIRD, but if they were smart they own the actual HD transfer they made indefinitely... of course in that scenario it would involve paying Italy the rights first, paying Blue Underground for the materials second, and then hoping the contracts from both parties don't contradict one another! It's enough to make almost anyone go...
